The Special Ones
The dieci Challenge League still features players with unusual backgrounds. We present: the most unique characters in the league!
Apparently, there are some people who complain that footballers don’t have any character these days. They say there is a lack of players with interesting life stories, who have had unusual experiences or stand out in some way. Anyone who says this clearly doesn’t know the dieci Challenge League very well…
FC AARAU: Olivier Jäckle
Players who wear the same strip for more than two seasons are a rarity these days. Olivier Jäckle (32) is anything but a journeyman. When he joined FC Aarau in 2008, the iPhone had just been invented. To date, he has played almost 400 games for the professional team – and helped out in a nursery and driven drunk people home as a volunteer for the ‘Nez rouge’ campaign.
AC BELLINZONA: Dragan Mihajlović
It’s what fans yearn for: that former heroes return to their home club in the twilight of their career. Many are put off by the high expectations, but not Dragan Mihajlović (33). After a career that first took him through all the clubs in Ticino and then to Cyprus and Bulgaria, three years ago he returned to the club where it all began. His connection to the club never waned.
ÉTOILE CAROUGE FC: Signori António
Even his name is unusual. Signori is in fact the first name of the 31-year-old goalkeeper. His experience is immeasurable: at the age of 21, the Lausanne native moved to Angola, his parents’ homeland, where he won two championships. He also played for Angola’s national team in front of tens of thousands of passionate fans. At last year’s Africa Cup of Nations, he almost drove the Nigerians, led by star striker Victor Osimhen, to despair in the quarter-finals – because he remained as calm as he does when he plays at the tranquil Stade de la Fontenette in Carouge.
NEUCHÂTEL XAMAX FCS: Mickaël Facchinetti
No name is more closely linked to Xamax than Facchinetti. Gilbert Facchinetti was president of the club for 24 years and was loved and respected throughout Switzerland. Before matches, he would invite the team to his estate, where his wife would cook for them. During this time, Xamax won the Swiss Super League twice and defeated Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the Europa League. Gilbert Facchinetti died in 2018 and his grandson Mickaël (34) is ensuring that the name lives on for the club.
FC RAPPERSWIL-JONA: Guillermo Padula
Sometimes a journey seems longer than it actually is. In 2018, Guillermo Padula left his home country of Uruguay to play football 11,000 kilometres away in Switzerland. But many things here would have seemed familiar to him. He comes from the department of Colonia, which has been heavily influenced by Swiss migrants. Swiss flags fly, there are yodelling choirs and cheese dairies, restaurants serve rösti and raclette, and the locals are called Häberli, Stutz and Frey. In other words: welcome home, Guillermo Padula!
FC STADE LAUSANNE-OUCHY: Luca Gelato
Watching football is the most fun during the summer. The only thing missing for complete happiness is a refreshing sweet treat. At Stade Lausanne-Ouchy, you’ll even find it on the pitch: Italian player Luca Gelato is, at least by name, the coolest footballer in Switzerland. Plus: genuine Italian gelato is also available in dieci gelaterias in Zurich Niederdorf, Zurich Limmatquai, Rapperswil, Zug and Lucerne – in 30 delicious flavours!
FC STADE NYONNAIS: Leorat Bega
Anyone watching old football footage from the 1970s will inevitably notice the many flowing manes. But in recent decades hairstyles have become shorter and shorter, and today hardly a hair comes loose in tackles. One rare exception is Leorat Bega (22). The defender wears his curls down past his shoulders and has by far the longest hair in Swiss professional football – bringing a touch of the wild seventies to our pitches.
FC VADUZ: Benjamin Büchel
Around one in every 50 residents of Liechtenstein is called Büchel. One of them has experienced every facet of football: in 2012, Benjamin Büchel left his home country to prove himself in the rough and tumble of English football. For five years he played at seven different clubs across the leagues, from the second to the seventh tier. He experienced fans singing songs for him in the pub, but also opposing supporters provoking him for 90 minutes – and applauding him when he gave as good as he got.
FC WIL: Simone Rapp
It’s difficult for professional footballers to remain fans, as they often change clubs. Simone Rapp (32) has it easier, because he is a fervent supporter of… HC Ambrì-Piotta. As a child in Ticino, he rang the doorbells of hockey players living in the area so often that his mother had to forbid him from doing so. As a teenager, he screamed his heart out in the fan section at the Valascia stadium. Nevertheless, he became an excellent footballer himself, who also completed a business school diploma on the side and enjoys making furniture. A truly atypical footballer.
YVERDON SPORT FC: Hélios Sessolo
Nobody knows the dieci Challenge League better than Hélios Sessolo (32). He has played around 250 matches in this league so far – for six (!) different clubs. He scored goals for FC Le Mont, Lausanne-Sport, Schaffhausen, Kriens, Thun and now Yverdon. Only once, in 2020, did he leave his territory to try his luck in Cyprus. However, it was only for one game, as coronavirus struck and he returned. It was as if this were a sign that a dieci Challenge League without Hélios Sessolo was unthinkable.
